A traditional field method of visually checking alignment or elevation by sighting across a series of rods, stakes, or targets. Surveyors bone a line by placing their eye near the first marker and looking toward the last, adjusting intermediate points until they all fall into a single visual plane. While optical instruments handle precise work, boning remains a fast way to rough-in stakes or check for gross errors before setting up a level.
Heard on the job
Bone in those intermediate stakes before we bother setting up the total station.
Insider tip
Boning rods are often T-shaped and are still used in drainage work to quickly establish a uniform slope between two known elevations without an instrument.
Also heard as
- boning